Party Shooting Plea Deal Possible For NJ Gunman: Reports

FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, NJ — Prosecutors are reportedly set to offer a 40-year plea deal to the only person who has been charged with murder in connection with a shooting that left three people dead and injured 11 others in South Jersey earlier this year, according to an NJ.com report.

Zedekiah Holmes, 21 of Millville, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder and four counts of first-degree attempted murder in connection with the shooting at a birthday party that took place at a home in Fairfield Township on May 22, according to the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office.

The state is prepared to offer Holmes a 40-year prison sentence in exchange for a guilty plea on all seven counts, nj.com first reported. He would have to serve 85 percent of that sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office had no additional comment when reached by Patch Monday morning.

Defense attorney John Morris previously challenged whether prosecutors had adequate evidence to support the charges. He said no eyewitnesses appear to have implicated his client as having been involved, and there has to be "at least a well-grounded suspicion" that he is the one to be charged. Read more here: Defense Calls Evidence In New Jersey Party Shooting Circumstantial

Holmes is accused of shooting Kevin Elliott, 30, and Asia Hester, 25, both of Bridgeton. His sister, 19-year-old Braylin Holmes of Millville, was also killed in the shooting, according to authorities. Read more here: Charges Filed In 2 Mass Shooting Deaths At NJ House Party

Holmes was standing next to his sister when the shooting started, nj.com reports. He was shot and fled to a wooded area before receiving a call that his sister had been shot. At that point, he went back to the party and stayed with her before seeking treatment for his wound, according to the report.

While Holmes is the only person who has been charged with murder, 36-year-old Kevin Dawkins, of Bridgeton, was previously charged with attempted murder in the shooting.

• Read more here: Attempted Murder Charge Filed In Mass Shooting At NJ House Party
• Read more here: 'Gun Clutched In His Hand': NJ Mass Shooting Details Released

Holmes has also been charged with six counts of second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun.

• Read more here: NJ Mass Shooting Updated: 3rd Person Dies, Another Arrest Made
• Read more here: Grief For NJ Mass Shooting Victim Who Came To America For Nursing